Beginner Question on Drying Time and Warping

[Jon Stewart]

Hi There,
I am hoping some of you might be able to clear up a question / concern I have.


I am planning on building and selling some wooden games in about 6 months. I have noticed that some of my wood twists and warps a bit after bringing it home (which is to be expected). I am wondering how far in advance I should plan on buying my lumber and letting it dry so that it can twist and warp and then I can run it through the jointer and planer when I begin to manufacture the games. I really don't want it to twist and warp much after I've built the games.


The lumber I will be buying will mostly be 2x8s,2x4s (spruce) and 4x4s (fir). Some will come from lumber yards but most from Home Depot due to pricing. The games will be used outside and will be various sizes but not bigger than 2 foot by 4 foot.


After speaking with my grandfather, my current plan is to buy it about 3 weeks in advance and store it properly (air on all 4 sides) in my (finished) basement where my workshop is.

I am hoping for your advice if this is enough / too much time.


Keep in mind I'm looking to build large quantities of these games eventually so having lumber sitting for large periods of time isn't ideal. Also I live in Calgary Canada as a point of reference.


Thank you very much for your help!


Jon

[Jim Dwight]

I build things out of construction lumber sometimes too for the same reason - the price is good as is the availability. I may use some in a rocking horse for the first grandson my daughter is expecting. But it is not as dry as wood intended for furniture. I think it is supposed to be 12% or less. Furniture wood is typically more like 4%. Moisture level changes is one reason wood warps. Once you apply a finish the rate of moisture change goes down, depending on the finish it may nearly stop. But until finish is applied, the moisture level goes up and down and the wood may warp.

So if you want your projects to not warp, you need to keep the moisture level constant until finish is applied.

Another reason wood warps is residual stresses within it. Those show up when you cut the board. Not much you can do about that except to cut a little oversize and let it sit for a day or two and then to final dimensions.

All I do, however, is try to pick boards which seem to be pretty dry. Wetter wood is heavier.

[Mel Fulks]

I think we need some idea of size range for the game pieces. A monopoly game house is the size of a thimble ,so it could be made of something unstable by reputation and soaking wet.... and still be rentable. Would also be helpful to know if the games are indoor or outdoor.

[Jon Stewart]

Hi Mel

Thanks for the quick response. The games are designed for the outdoors and will be roughly 2 feet by 4 feet but there are various sizes.

[Jon Stewart]

I didn't know this about the finish aspect and that it slows drying. That is good to know as I plan my processes out. I guess building and then painting / finishing needs to be completed as soon as possible. Thanks!

[Art Mann]

I have used both white pine and southern yellow pine from Lowes or Home Depot for utilitarian projects. I consider it to be rough cut. I always design the project so that I plane a 2 X 6 down to 1-3/8" thick by 5-1/4" wide, for example. I try to wait 6 months before I machine the lumber. I sometimes keep an inventory of this type framing lumber just to allow drying time for things like jigs that need to be accurately made.

Edit: I just read your previous post and must add that I do not advocate finishing anything until it has dried to its stable moisture content for the environment. If you don't do that, you can't count on your project not warping after it is built. If you are building out of kiln dried pressure treated, you will need to allow even longer. I have special ordered #1 kiln dried lumber and then measured 15+ % moisture.

[Mel Fulks]

For that type lumber I find even a few days in warm dry location will show which pieces can be trusted long and which will have to be set aside to be short parts ...or propellers.

[Brian Tymchak]

Since you are planning to work in volume at some point, I would suggest working with a lumber company to purchase kiln dried lumber in volume sizes (100, 250, 500 bf bunks) where you can get volume pricing. My local hardwood dealer gives 10% ,20%, 30% discounts respectively. Also, you will most likely end up with better quality lumber than the construction lumber that is intended to go from bundle to frame and then dry in place. Kiln dried lumber will still need to be acclimated when you receive it but it should take less time than waiting for construction lumber to dry out enough to not dramatically shrink or warp when you mill it.

[Gerry Grzadzinski]

Construction lumber is very wet, sometimes 20% moisture content, and may take months to acclimate.

[Cody Colston]

Get a moisture meter and work the lumber when it is at EMC for Calgary.

There is no point in acclimating the lumber to indoor EMC if the finished projects will live outdoors.

Most construction lumber is kiln dried to 19% MC but may be a bit lower depending on how long it was inside the Home Center.

[Jeff Duncan]

This probably varies somewhat by location, but around my way Box Stores are the last place you want to buy lumber. The local lumber yard might be a few cents more per board, but the quality is so much better it's a no brainer. Just the time saved alone would justify paying more. Go to the box store and start going through a pile of boards trying to find the quantity you need in fairly straight pieces could take quite a while. I go to the lumber yard pull what I need off the top and off I go!

On another note depending on what types of games your building you may not need your lumber to be perfect. Your description sounds like you may be making corn hole boards? If so I think you'd be wasting a lot of time and energy running those parts through a jointer or planer. The shop next to mine makes and sell a good amount of those and they just use 2x4's as is bolted together. They spend the most time/focus on the tops.....which are what people are really interested in.

good luck,
JeffD

[glenn bradley]

Lots of different replies here. Location and environment certainly play a part in being able to use construction lumber for anything other than construction. In sunny SoCal I have never had a good long term result with construction lumber. I have tried stickering it for months, tarping it to slow drying and so forth. Over time the continued movement of the material causes the assemblies to fail (or at least fail my expectations :)). I have learned that, around here anyway, the difference in the percentage of spoil makes using poplar from a decent lumber yard actually cost less in the end. This could be due to the fact that I have the basic tools for milling the material; jointer, planer, bandsaw, tablesaw. YMMV.

[John Lankers]

Jon, buying 2 x from Home Depot in Calgary is not a bad idea, I find the quality and moisture content of SPF lumber there is decent. The lumber is stored inside in a controlled environment and sales are slow right now. Stay away from places that store any lumber outside.

Try to go for straight 2 x 10 with few to no defects, cut the pith out and glue the boards back together. I built interior doors and childrens bedroom furniture from HD 2 x and they are still straight and square after 10 years.
PJ White Hardwoods in Calgary is also a good source for lumber if you don't mind paying a slightly higher price.